Basic

Civic
Education
Teacher’s Guide
FO R
6
PRIMARY SCHOOLS


ii
 Basic
Civic
Education
Teacher’s Guide
FO R
6 S
PRIMARY SCHOOL

B J Obebe
F J Muazu
H O C Ambassador-Brikins
S O Koledoye

UBE Edition

iii
Longman Nigeria Plc
Head office
Felix Iwerebon House
52 Oba Akran Avenue
P.M.B. 21036
IKEJA, Lagos State, Nigeria
Phone: +234 01-7403967
+234 01-4393111
Fax: +234 01-4964370
Email: longman@longmannigeria.com
Website: www.longmannigeria.com

Area offices and branches

Abuja, Agbor, Akure, Enugu, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jos, Kano, Owerri and
Zaria with representatives throughout Nigeria

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Longman Nigeria Plc 2009

First published 2009

ISBN 978 978 026 847 3

iv
Contents
Introduction 1

Theme 1 National honours awards 11

Theme 2 Values––Valuing Nigerian goods 12

Values that promote peace 12
Tolerance 13
Cooperation 13
Attributes or characteristics of cooperation 14
National unity 14

Theme 3 National consciousness and identity 15

Nationalism and patriotism 15
Problems of ethnic, state and group loyalty 15
Nigeria’s national symbols 16
Differences between national symbols and other symbols 17
Citizenship and nationalization 17
Merits and demerits of having foreigners in Nigeria 18
Conditions for foreigners to become Nigerian citizens 19

Theme 4 Government 20
Government policies and programmes 20
The importance of government programmes to Nigerians 20
Government institutions in Nigeria 21
NAFDAC functions 22
EFCC functions 22
ICPC functions 22
SON functions 23

Theme 5 Civil society and popular participation 24

The state and civil society 24
Functions of civil society groups in Nigeria 24


vi
Introduction

What civic education is

At a workshop organised by the NERDC in January 2007 at its head-
quarters in Abuja, a group of social studies teachers drawn from across
Nigeria, worked to disarticulate elements of Civic Education from
Social Studies. After a week of serious interactions centred on looking
at elements of Civic Education in Social Studies, a definition of Civic
Education was arrived at as:
The process of inculcating in the individual his rights and responsi-
bilities to himself, society and government, as well as the desirable
knowledge, attitudes, norms, values, morals and actions necessary
for the survival and sustenance of society.
Just as is the case with Social Studies, the syllabus arrived at for Civic
Education as a core subject for the Universal Basic Education adopts the
problem–inquiry approach to the study of decision-making processes.
It was identified that for one to become a functional citizen, one has to
be able to make vital decisions after examining all the issues involved
in one’s environment.

Purpose and plan of this book

This Teacher’s Guide has been designed to ease the teacher’s work of
effectively guiding the learners in their teaching and learning activities.
It is with the hope that teachers of Civic Education will also be teachers
of Social Studies.
There is a need for the transfer of training and learning for both
teachers and pupils. Civic Education should be taught in a democratic
atmosphere, where the teachers and pupils are free to exchange ideas in
the form of questions, answers and comments. The teacher should not
appear as the main source of information for knowledge and content of
Civic Education. The subject, as it is conceived, should be seen as relevant
to our daily living activities.
The evaluation process should not be on the cognitive level alone.
There should be practical work on values and skill development. This
can be achieved through involving the pupils in demonstration, drama
and games that are Civic Education related.


Syllabus planning for primary Civic Education
Civic Education was formerly taught in schools through other subjects,
called ‘carrier subjects’, such as Social Studies, Citizenship Education,
Government, and History. But recently the importance of Civic Edu-
cation in developing in children and youths of our society skills that
would aid them in becoming responsible national and international
citizens became prominent. The new Basic Education structure was to
make Civic Education a core subject. The Nigerian Educational Research
and Development Council was mandated to assemble specialists and
professionals in subjects such as Social Studies, Citizenship Education
and Civic Education to disarticulate Civic Education contents from these
subject areas, as well as topics from materials used by the NOA, and
SSS/SOS. They were then to select relevant materials for teaching Civic
Education on its own.
The thematic approach to content integration in Civic Education was
recommended by the NERDC. This approach allows the integration of
new and emerging issues of local and global concern. Thus, Civic Educa-
tion has been structured as follows:

Primary One or Basic One

1. Civic Education—Meaning of Civic Education
2. National symbols—People, places and things to respect
3. Good social behaviour—Rules and regulations
4. Health issues—Sanitation—Personal hygiene—Rules and regulations
for the intake of substances into the body

Primary Two
1. Civic Education—Importance of Civic Education
2. The school— School rules and regulations—Duties and qualities of
class monitors and prefects
3. The community—Our community—Our community leaders
4. Health issues—Keeping our surroundings clean—Sanitation (Toi-
lets)

Primary Three
1. Civic Education—Components of Civic Education
2. National consciousness—National identity—National symbols
3. Duties and responsibilities—Respect for constituted authority
4. Health issues—Personal hygiene—Sanitation facilities—Drug laws
and their enforcement—Preventing drug abuse


Primary Four
1. Our values—Attitude towards cultural diversity—Respect for other
people
2. Citizenship—Community leadership—Local government—State
government
3. Duties and responsibilities—Responsibilities of members of a fam-
ily
4. Civic values—Civic values
5. National consciousness—Ethnicity—Nation
6. Government—Types of government
7. Constituted authority—Duties of citizens to constituted authority
8. Social issues —Traffic regulations—Attitude to accident victims
9. Health issues—Personal hygiene (Clothes)

Primary Five
1. Our values —Why many people could not own homes—Values in
house construction
2. Citizenship—Government main services—Problems created by bad
leadership
3. Duties and responsibilities—Attitude to victims of natural disas-
ters
4. Civic Education—Meaning and parts of Civic Education—The im-
portance of Civic Education—Why study Civic Education
5. National consciousness—Meaning of loyalty
6. Government—Our duties and obligations to government—Arms
of government—Importance of government—Functions of govern-
ment
7. Representative democracy—Defending democracy and social justice
(Pressure groups)—Communicating social injustice to leaders
8. Civil society and popular—Civil society and moral instruction par-
ticipation

Primary Six
1. Civic Education—National honours awards
2. Values—Valuing Nigerian goods—Values that promote peace
3. National consciousness and identity—Nationalism and patriotism
—Citizenship and naturalisation
4. Government—Government policies and programmes—Importance
of government programmes to Nigerians—Government institutions
in Nigeria
5. Civil society and popular participation—State and civil society par-
ticipation

6. Social issues—Moral aspect of drug education—Drug laws and their
enforcement— Trafficking in dangerous drugs and the law
The structure is made up of themes broken into topics. Basically, there
are twelve themes from Primary One to Primary Three, broken up into
21 topics; whereas, there are twenty-three themes for Primary Four to
Six, broken into forty-two topics. There is a re-occurrence of themes and
topics with increasing levels of difficulty, designed to ensure mastery
of the ideas throughout the primary school years. This is similar to the
design of Social Studies curricula.
We must reemphasise that Civic Education was given birth from
Social Studies as a major source, while Citizenship Education and other
available related documents were consulted for enrichment purposes.
In putting the curriculum together, the planners were mindful of the
new structure of lower basic curriculum of primaries 1–3; middle basic
education of primaries 4–6 and upper basic education of JSS 1–3. At each
level, their design is such as to make our youths become functional and
well informed citizens of Nigeria and the world at large. The National
Council on Education (NCE) at its meeting in Calabar from 26 Novem-
ber to 1 December 2006 underscored this when it directed that the Basic
Education curriculum content should be increased from 19 to 20 to ac-
commodate Civic Education and that it should be accorded the status
of a core subject.
As a result, at the lower basic and middle basic levels, the emphasis
is on:
1. Good moral behaviour in the community
2. Our duties to ourselves as individuals, our communities, the state
and the nation at large
3. Developing positive attitude to managing resources
4. Obeying rules and regulations
5. Obeying constituted authority
6. Functioning as informed citizens of a nation and making positive
contributions to the survival of the nation
At the upper basic level (JSS 1–3), the points of emphasis are:
1. Our duties as educated citizens to our community and the nation at
large
2. Keeping our societal values to promote national unity
3. Knowing our rights and respecting those of others
4. Understanding how to live in a democracy
5. Promoting national unity through democratic governance
6. Developing right attitude towards work and participating in electoral
processes

 We agree totally with these areas of emphasis as necessary contents
of the Civic Education curriculum. We are, however, mindful of those
to deliver the goods – the Teacher. For now, Nigeria doesn’t have pre-
pared or qualified teachers to teach Civic Education as prepared and
presented. We are aware that, meanwhile, teachers of Social Studies will
be the vanguard in the teaching of Civic Education. So we expect the
teacher to explain Civic Education to her pupils to the best of her ability,
by giving concrete examples in the lessons, and leading discussions in a
democratic and friendly environment. The teacher should employ the use
of photographs, posters, and other appropriate materials to involve her
pupils in the learning and teaching situation. Pupils should be encour-
aged to answer the teacher’s questions and ask the teacher questions in
areas that they need assistance.

Detailed structure of Civic Education syllabus

The Civic Education curriculum for the Primary classes is structured
into about 35 themes broken into 57 topics as follows:

Primary I — Four themes broken into six topics

Primary II — Four themes broken into seven topics
Primary III — Four themes broken into eight topics
Primary IV — Nine themes broken into fourteen topics
Primary V — Eight themes broken into sixteen topics
Primary VI — Six themes broken into twelve topics

As we have just seen, there are more topics from the themes in the upper
classes than in the lower classes.

Arrangement of themes
Each theme has a central issue to be addressed in each class. For ex-
ample,
Primary I — What is Civic Education?
Primary II — Importance of Civic Education
Primary III — Components of Civic Education
Primary IV — Our values – attitude towards cultural diver
sity
Primary V — Citizenship: Government main services to its
citizens
Primary VI — Nationalism and patriotism

Structure of each theme
Each theme is broken into topics. For each topic to be well addressed by
the teacher, performance objectives are indicated in terms of what pupils
should be able to do at the end of each unit. The contents are suggested
and are to be enriched by the teacher through her own resourcefulness.
Teachers’ and pupils’ activities are suggested. Teaching and learning
materials are also listed, together with a suggestion on evaluation items
on each topic. We shall give a detailed example from Primary Three
Civic Education thus:

Theme 1: Civic Education

1. Topic Components of Civic Education
2. Performance Objectives: Pupils should be able to:
i) Identify components of Civic Education
ii) Explain the dimensions of Civic Education
3. Course content to be taught:
i) Components: Rights and responsibilities, talent
fulfilment, freedom of the citizen, open-mindedness,
healthy competition, democratic practices, and academic
freedom.
ii) Dimensions: Political, legal, social, economic and cultural.
4. Activities for teachers and pupils: The teacher is to lead the pupils to
identify from relevant sources the components of Civic Education.
She should guide the pupils and explain the dimensions of Civic
Education to them. The pupils, on their part, engage in identifying
the components of Civic Education. They participate in explaining
the dimensions of Civic Education. They can take part in role playing
to explain the dimensions of Civic Education.
5. Teaching and learning materials suggested include, among others,
posters, pictures and video clips.
6. Evaluation guide: The teacher is expected to ask pupils questions
to find out the extent they have followed her teaching. That is, she
should ensure that they can identify the components of Civic Educa-
tion, and be able to explain the dimensions of Civic Education.


Conclusion
The Civic Education syllabus, like the social studies syllabus, is compre-
hensive. Emphasis is on developing positive attitude in the children and
the youths. It is expected that the end of their exposure to Civic Education,
the children, who will have turned into youths, become informed citizens
of the nation. They will have been taught how to think and reason out
alternative solutions to the problems in their environment.

Classification of instructional techniques for Civic Education

The teacher of Civic Education is expected to use, for the teaching of
Civic Education, practical, concrete methods suggested on Page 7 of
Social Studies Handbook, for the teaching of Social Studies, by the NERDC.
More importantly, however, the teacher must encourage democratic
teaching and learning processes, in which the pupils are the centre of
activities in the class.

Specimen lesson plan on components of Civic Education

1. Theme: Civic Education
2. Topic: Components of Civic Education
3. Objectives: At the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:
a) Identify components of Civic Education.
b) Explain dimensions of Civic Education.
c) Demonstrate through role playing the components and di-
mensions of Civic Education.
4. Contents of the lesson
Rights and responsibilities of the individual in society
a) Freedom of expression in society
b) Democratic practices – the right to vote and be voted for
c) Dimensions – political, economic and cultural activities in
soci ety, and the roles of individuals in them
5. Materials suggested for teaching: Posters, pictures, video clips, and of
course, pupils’ demonstrations in class during teaching and learning
engagement.
6. Evaluation: Pupils should answer questions from the teacher. Pu-
pils should also ask questions on topics for clarification from the
teacher.
7. Assignment: Pupils are assigned practical work to be done to illus-
trate the lesson delivered by the teacher.

Conclusion
In a Civic Education class, emphasis is on pupils’ participation in a
democratic environment. The teacher should not be the only source
of information for the pupils. Rather, both the teacher and the pupils
should be involved in activities designed to realise the objectives of
every topic.

Inquiry techniques
Inquiry is the best method of teaching. As a method, it has many alterna-
tive techniques which may be grouped into three:
1. Research activities
2. Oral activities
3. Creative activities

Research activities
Research is a fundamental activity involving finding out and organis-
ing information. There are many activities related to research, including
reading, interviewing, observing, collecting, listening and experimenting.
Emphasis is placed on student discovery. This demands the involvement
of students in the world beyond the classroom and a student-teacher
relationship of shared activity.
A teacher might initiate a research activity by putting the right ques-
tion to the class. This question may be a result of a lesson, or a news item
from the media. For instance, after a lesson on agriculture in Nigeria, the
teacher may ask:
‘How many types of locally produced farm crops are available in the
nearby market?’
The teacher may proceed by asking for a show of hands and then
tally the results on the chalkboard. Then, she can ask some more ques-
tions such as:
1. Why have the students provided various answers?
2. What techniques might we use to verify our answers to the ques-
tion?
3. Where can we go for further information?
4. How can we present our findings?
After the class has come to some agreement on these four questions,
it may be divided into groups to carry out research on the different
areas, or to carry out different phases of the research. When the results

are reported, a discussion will be necessary to decide on the meaning
of the results. Such a discussion may revolve around these and other
questions:
1. What do the results mean to you?
2. What might the results mean to other people?
Field trips, either local or distant, are also worthwhile research activi-
ties.

Oral activities
Civic Education, like Social studies, lays a lot of emphasis on the overall
development of the child. Communication skills are part of the total
personality. Oral activities are part of communication skills, and are
very important in everyday life. Individual assessment of students is
sometimes best achieved when they are performing oral activities. A
careful observation can be made of the individual under these conditions.
Notes can be written on their performance into the teacher’s mark-book
as part of the continuous assessment.
The types of oral activities that are available for student participation
include role-playing, oral book reports, panel discussion, debate and
drama. Here is a brief demonstration of role-playing as a class activity.
Four students can be selected, or four volunteers can be got from the
class to play the role of four Nigerians. The classroom teacher will play
the role of a questioner and an umpire. The four students will play the
following roles:

• A northern Nigerian politician

• A southern farmer in the village
• A northern trader in a market
• A southern Nigerian student

The entire class should pretend that they were living in Nigeria in 1976
when Abuja was to be chosen as the new Federal Capital of Nigeria. The
teacher begins the role-playing situation by asking:
‘Why do we need to change Nigeria’s seat of government from Lagos
to Abuja?’
The question sets up the dilemma: To choose Abuja or to remain in
Lagos.
Speaking as a politician, a farmer, a trader and a pupil, the pupils
should be able to give the teacher a variety of answers.
At the end of the role-play, which should not last longer than five
minutes, there must be a discussion session or a debriefing.

Creative activities
Students learn a great deal at home and at play through creative activities.
Therefore, the enjoyment of learning through creative activities should be
brought to school. Creative activities allow the teacher to tap the various
talents among the students in the classroom.
Some of these creative activities are writing, speaking, drama, simu-
lation game, music and model construction. Some art activities might
include drawing, carving and painting.
Constraints on the use of some creative activities are the availability
of materials and the amount of time they take. Another difficulty has
to do with students’ seriousness in the conduct of these activities. They
must be made to realise that creative activities are as valuable to learning
as any other activity.

Conclusion
The three groups of learning techniques are not discrete. They can be
combined to teach a single lesson or a series of lessons on a theme. For
instance, a lesson on ‘Air transportation in Nigeria’ to JSS 2 students,
can, in addition to normal oral teaching, be supported in the following
way:
1. Paying a visit to an airport or airfield, or collecting pictures of an
airport, aviation magazines, etc.
2. Based on the visit or the picture, having the students construct a
simple model of an airport (working in groups of about three).
3. Having the students prepare a map to show the locations of Nigeria’s
airports.
4. Having the students prepare oral reports about services provided
by airlines.
5. Having the students compose songs or stories about airplanes.

10
Theme 1
National honours awards
Explain national honours to the children as special official recognition
given to people for their contribution to national development. Then
assist the pupils in mentioning the various national honours awards
bestowed on deserving members of society. Also explain to the pupils
that some awards come with some money and other prizes.
Types of national honours in Nigeria include the following:
1. MON –Member of the Order of the Niger
2. CON – Commander of the Order of the Niger
3. CFR – Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
4. GCFR – Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
5. OFR – Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
5. OON – Officer of the Order of the Niger

Guide the pupils to mention the reasons for national honours, which
include the following:
1. Recognition and reward for the hard work the individuals have
done for the development and growth of the country.
2. Appreciation for their loyalty to the country, obedience to those in
authority, and for their patriotism to the country.
3. In recognition of excellence.
4. A reward for their outstanding service to the country.
5. A way to reward the selfless services the individuals have
rendered.
6. To further encourage them to serve the country more.

Ask the pupils find out from home, examples of national honours
awardees which should later be discussed with them in class.

11
Theme 2
Values – Valuing Nigerian goods
Guide the pupils in the discussion of the reasons why we should value
Nigerian goods, and write the reasons on the chalkboard as the discus-
sion progresses. Some of the reasons are as follows:
1. We are proud of ourselves for what we have made. We feel satisfied
and happy because we worked hard to produce the goods.
2. We provide employment for people. Those who have been
unemployed would now have good jobs, and would be useful to
themselves and society.
3. People would live better lives, because they can buy the products
more easily since they are made in Nigeria.
4. When we value our own products, other countries would value
them too, hence they will patronise Nigerian goods.
5. When we have our own products, the manufacturers would ensure
they are of high quality. We will then be able to export them and
earn foreign exchange. This will enrich Nigeria.
6. Some Nigerian goods are cheaper than the imported variety of the
same products.
7. Some Nigerian made goods are much stronger, and would last
longer than the imported variety of the same products.
Ask the pupils give examples of Nigerian -made goods. Some of these
include:
1. Textiles
2. Wood, wooden products and furniture
3. Batteries
4. Soap
5. Leather products
6. Electrical materials, e.g. cables, electricity bulbs, lamp holders and
sockets
7. Rubber
8. Plastic and plastic products such as cans, plates and cups
9. Stationery ­– e.g. paper and envelopes
10. Biros and pencils

Values that promote peace

Explain to the pupils that apart from tangible materials which we should
value, there are other intangible things that must be valued. Among them
12
are the values that promote peace in society. Let the pupils mention and
explain the values that promote peace while you guide them. Then list
these values on the chalkboard for thorough explanation.
These are some of the values that promote peace in society:
1. Tolerance
2. Cooperation
3. National unity

Tolerance
Ask the pupils to explain the meaning of tolerance, and guide them where
necessary. Let the pupils also mention the characteristics of tolerance
under your guidance.
Tolerance is the ability to accept somebody or something which one
does not agree with or like. Individuals and people have different at-
titudes, likes, etc. However, for peace to reign, we need to tolerate other
people with their peculiarities.

Characteristics of tolerance include:

1. Respect for each other’s behaviour and ways of doing things,
which are sometimes different from our own.
2. Forgiveness. This is the ability to stop feeling angry with somebody
that has wronged you. We need to forgive one another if peace is
to reign in society. When we forgive, we would not seek revenge
against those that have offended us.
3. Accommodation. We should learn to help others do things they like,
which may be different from ours, if we want to promote peace in
our society.
4. Slow to anger. We must be slow in getting angry with one another.
When we do this, we will be able to take rational decisions. When
you easily get angry, you are likely to take rash decisions which
will affect you, the other person, and society at large.

Cooperation
Ask the pupils to explain the concept of cooperation, and guide them
in their discussions. Pupils should also be guided in mentioning the
characteristics of cooperation.
Cooperation involves working together in order to achieve a goal.
For peace in society, members must cooperate.

13
Attributes or characteristics of cooperation
The characteristics of cooperation include the following:
1. Communal efforts. Joint efforts by members of the community in
order to achieve a goal is a feature of cooperation. Members of the
community may contribute money for projects in the community.
2. Shared responsibilities. When responsibilities are shared, there
is cooperation. When individuals are ready to shoulder their
responsibilities in things that are of collective concern, then we
have shared responsibilities.
3. Helping each other in times of need. We would help one another in
times of need if there is cooperation.
4. Willingness to assist. There would be willingness on the part of the
members to assist the members and society as a whole, if there is
cooperation.

National unity
National unity involves the coming together of the people to do things
for the good of all in the country. For national unity to prevail in Nigeria
that is made up of different ethnic groups, we must do the following:
1. Emphasise things that unite us.
2. Respect the national objectives.
3. Respect the national symbols, e.g. the coat of arms, flag, and
anthem
4. Strengthen national bonds
Explain to the pupils other values which promote peace in society,
namely humility, moderation, humaneness and self-control. She should
then ask the pupils to find out why human beings find it difficult to
achieve peace.

14
Theme 3

National consciousness and identity

Nationalism and patriotism

Explain the meaning of nationalism and patriotism to the pupils. Na-
tionalism means the feeling of love and pride for one’s country, while
patriotism denotes loyalty to the nation. You should then list and explain
the features of nationalism and patriotism. These include:
1. Promoting national interests. At whatever level we are, we must
ensure that national interests are promoted above self and group
interests.
2. Placing the nation before self. The nation should be given first and
paramount consideration over self.
3. Love for one’s country. There should be love for our country. This
love must be more than any love for other countries in the world.
4. Loyalty to the nation. Loyalty to the nation means being faithful in
all respects to one’s country. We must be faithful and loyal to our
country Nigeria. We must be ready to serve our country, pay taxes
as and when due, etc.
A nationalist is thus someone who believes his country is the best,
someone who wants his country to have political and economic inde-
pendence.
Give examples of nationalists and ask the pupils to find out these
people’s contributions to the political independence of Nigeria. Examples
of nationalists include Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Alhaji
Aminu Kano, Herbert Macaulay, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Problems of ethnic, state and group loyalty

Ask the pupils to mention and discuss problems of ethnic, state and
group loyalty, having shown them pictures and charts of ethnic violence
in some parts of Nigeria. Guide them to mention the problems, and list
them on the chalkboard as discussion progresses.
Some of the problems of ethnic, state and group loyalty are as listed
below:
1. Ethnic crisis. This is violence between one ethnic group and another,
which could lead to loss of lives and property, and the disturbance
of public peace and order. This essentially is due to loyalty to one’s

15
 ethnic group rather than the country. A typical example is the clash
between the Awori and the Egba in April 2008 in Sango area of
Ogun State.
2. Political instability. Military intervention in politics in Nigeria more
often than not was due to ethnic and group loyalty, rather than
loyalty to the nation. Loyalty should be to the nation.
3. Election malpractice. Election rigging in Nigeria often stems from
ethnic and group loyalty. Citizens want their ethnic or tribal
leaders to emerge at all costs instead of voting for those that will
protect the national interest when elected.
4. Inflation of census figures. Nigeria does not have reliable and
accurate census figures due to ethnic and group loyalty. Census
figures are often inflated to favour one ethnic group at the expense
of the others. This should be discouraged.
Get the pupils to copy the notes in their notebooks.

Nigeria’s national symbols

Let the pupils mention the national symbols, while the teacher guide
them. The teacher should show the pupils the national flag, the Nigerian
coat of arms, and a chart where the national pledge and the national
anthems are written.
Explain to the pupils what the national symbols stand for. Also guide
the pupils to examine and describe the national symbols. Then, explain
the meanings of the colours of the flag as follows:
Green colour – Agriculture
White colour – Peace

The coat of arms should also be explained to the pupils, i.e.

1. The horses stand for strength.
2. The Y-shaped line that runs down the coat of arms represents
Rivers Niger and Benue.
3. The white and green wreath shows the colours of the national
flag.
4. ‘Unity and faith, peace and progress’ represents the motto of
Nigeria.
Ask the pupils to find out other national symbols, e.g. the National
Passport, National currencies etc.

Values of nationalism and patriotism

Ask the pupils to mention the values of nationalism and patriotism
16
while you guide them in their discussion, and write the main points on
the chalkboard as they are discussed. Some of the values of nationalism
and patriotism include:
1. Courage. Those who love their country must be courageous in
order to speak boldly against evil and defend their country.
2. Respect. Patriots should respect their country and her citizens.
They should respect everything that concerns their country, since
they have no other country they can regard as theirs.
3. Selflessness. Patriots should think of others in the country. They
should consider what they can do for their country, and not what
the country can do for them all the time.
4. Tolerance. Patriots should tolerate other citizens and their views in
order to allow peace to reign.
5. Cooperation. A patriot should cooperate with others, even if their
ideas are not exactly the same. This will enhance peace and
progress.

Differences between national symbols and other symbols

Ask the pupils to differentiate between national symbols and other
symbols, and guide them in their effort. You should also mention some
symbols belonging to other groups apart from the national symbols,
e.g. social groups, medical associations, ethnic groups, political parties,
and schools. Then, explain that the major difference between national
symbols and other symbols, is that the flag, the national pledge etc. are
for the entire nation, while other symbols are for specific groups like
schools, clubs, and companies.

Use various illustrations and examples to explain the points. For example,
the school badge can be compared with the national coat of arms etc.

Citizenship and nationalization

Why foreigners are in our country
Ask the pupils to explain the meaning of foreigners and give reasons why
we have foreigners in our midst. Guide them as they make attempts, and
make necessary corrections.
A foreigner is a citizen of another country. For example, a Briton in
Nigeria is a foreigner, while a Nigerian in Britain or Germany is a for-
eigner. The reasons why we have foreigners in our country include the

17
following:
1. Economic reasons. Some of them are in our country for employment,
to work for one organisation or the other; while some are here to
engage in business of their own.
2. Recreation and holiday. Some foreigners are here on holiday. Such
persons are here to see interesting places and relax.
3. As experts. Some are also in our country because they are specialists
who have come to give their expert advice and service, particularly
in the petroleum industry.
4. Evangelisation. Some foreigners are in the country to teach their
religion to others.
5. Intelligence purposes. Some of them are sent here as diplomats, and
are expected to study the system of government here, and gather
intelligence reports for their country.

6. Curiosity. Some are here because of what they have heard about
our country, and wish to find out if those things are true.
7. Academic purposes. Some foreigners are in our country to carry out
research, as our citizens also go out to other countries for academic
pursuits.

Merits and demerits of having foreigners in Nigeria

List the merits and demerits of having foreigners in Nigeria on the
chalkboard and discuss them with the pupils. Also show to the pupils
charts and maps showing foreigners working in different sectors of the
economy in Nigeria.
The merits include the following:
1. Foreigners are in Nigeria to promote the development of the
country through working in our industries, e.g. the oil and gas
industry.
2. They may be in our educational institutions like colleges and
universities as teachers and lecturers. There they share their
knowledge with the students.
3. Some are diplomats representing their countries. They promote
good relationships between their countries and ours.
4. Some of the foreigners are here as priests and pastors, purely on
religious ground.
5. We can learn many things from the foreigners in our country, and
their presence can help our land in many ways.
The demerits of having foreigners in our midst include the following:
18
1. They introduce foreign culture to us, and some of those elements
do not suit us. When we try to practise them, we behave strangely;
while some are even harmful to us.
2. They introduce foreign products to us and when some of us see
these products, they lose interest in goods made in Nigeria.
Show the pupils a map of Africa, as well as a map of the world, to show
them the places from which foreigners come to our country.

Conditions for foreigners to become Nigerian citizens

List and explain the conditions that foreigners must satisfy before be-
coming Nigerian citizens, using a copy of the constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria as a guide. Then, ask the pupils to give specific
examples they know of foreigners that have now become Nigerians.
Explain to the pupils that some of the foreigners in our midst, who
have come as visitors, teachers, lecturers, priests, or even business men
and women, may like to become Nigerians. Since they cannot claim
Nigerian citizenship by birth, it has to be by naturalisation.

The conditions for naturalisation include that the person must:

1. Apply to the President to grant him or her a certificate of
naturalisation.
2. Be an adult.
3. Be a person of good character.
4. Actually desire and intend to live in Nigeria (not that some people
are forcing him or her to do so).
5. Be sure that the Governor of the state in which he or she wishes to
live would accept them. They must also be sure that the people in
the local community of their choice would accept them.
6. Be willing and capable of helping Nigeria and her citizens to
develop and make progress.
7. Have a good means of livelihood.
8. Have lived in Nigeria continuously for fifteen years.

19
Theme 4
Government

Government policies and programmes

Lead the pupils to identify government policies and programmes having
explained them as those specific projects or things government embarks
upon for the progress and development of the country. Then list examples
of such programmes on the chalkboard as:
1. The UBE
2. NEEDS
3. Due process

Ensure to explain the programmes thoroughly to the children one after

the other, as follows:
1. UBE means Universal Basic Education. It is a programme which
has a structure of nine years of basic primary education. It is
expected to be made compulsory for all children of school age in
Nigeria. The idea of UBE had been on the government’s drawing
board for over ten years. The government has now put it in place
so that children would have a better educational foundation, so
that they would be more useful to themselves and society with a
good education.
2. NEEDS means National Economic Empowerment and
Development Strategy. The government has put this strategy in
place for the economic development of the country, in order to
eradicate poverty and create jobs for the many unemployed people
in the country.
3. Due Process. This is a policy that seeks to ensure that rules and
regulations are strongly adhered to in government policy
implementation. It is because this has not always been the case
in Nigeria that we have some problems that are facing our
developmental processes. Compliance with due process will help
to eliminate corruption and make our society better organised.
Get the pupils to write notes on the above issues.

The importance of government programmes to Nigerians

Explain to the pupils that the programmes we have just used to illustrate
government programmes would now be examined, so as to see their
20
importance to Nigerians.
The UBE programme is very important because it:
1. Provides for free and compulsory education for all Nigerian
children of school going age.
2. Has the potential to wipe out illiteracy in Nigeria.
3. Will give an opportunity to all Nigerians, irrespective of gender or
economic status to develop themselves.

NEEDS, on the other hand, will:

1. Help to re-orientate Nigerians about our value system. We must
go back to valuing hard work and creativity. Emphasis would be
on merit in qualifying person for certain positions or advantages,
rather than other considerations..
2. Help us fight poverty.
3. Create jobs for all able-bodied Nigerians who must be employed.
4. Pave the way for wealth to be re-distributed, so that our money
will not remain in the hands of a few people.
5. Educate the people and empower them to be self-reliant.
Give the pupils an assignment to find out the importance of due process
to Nigerians. Then, discuss their findings with them later in class.

Government institutions in Nigeria

Explain to the pupils that there are many government institutions in
Nigeria, having told them first to mention those they know. Now restrict
the discussion to NAFDAC, ICPC, EFCC and SON.
Ask the pupils to explain what they know about NAFDAC, ICPC,
EFCC and SON, and guides them in their attempt. Now assists the
pupils to state the full meaning of NAFDAC, ICPC, EFCC and SON as
follows:
1. NAFDAC – National Agency for Food and Drug Administration
and Control
2. ICPC – Independent Corrupt Practices Commission
3. EFCC – Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
4. SON – Standards Organisation of Nigeria

Then, as much as possible, use posters, charts, video clips and newspaper
stories to explain the functions of these agencies as follows:

21
NAFDAC functions
NAFDAC means National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and
Control, performs the following functions:
1. It ensures food and drug safety, by reducing the prevalence of fake
and substandard drugs and food substances in the market through
research, policy formulation and enforcement.
2. It promotes consumer awareness on the safe use of medicine, by
teaching people how to use medicine in a safe way.
3. It cooperates with the Federal and State Ministries of Health in the
activities they organise to promote people’s good health.

EFCC functions
EFCC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was established
to do the following things:

1. Discover economic crimes and prosecute criminals.

2. Fight corruption.
3. Ensure transparency and accountability in public life.
4. Prevent economic sabotage.

ICPC functions
The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC’s main functions
are to:
1. Check corruption, especially in public life.
2. Instill discipline in public life.
3. Enforce due process in all government transactions. That is, it tries
to make sure that government officials obey rules and do things
the right way.
4. Check bribery in public life. That is, it seeks to make people get
things done without giving or receiving bribes.
5. Ensure professional discipline and ethics. It makes sure that those
who work in various organisations do their jobs well and obey the
rules of their professions.

22
SON functions
The standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON’s functions include the
following:
1. To ensure high standards of consumables and non-consumables,
in order to make sure that the products which people buy are of
high quality.
2. To reduce the prevalence of goods of poor standard in the market.
3. To collaborate with the Federal and State Ministries of Industry
and Commerce in promoting high standards of products.
Explain to the pupils the need for them to use the mass media that
is radio, television, newspapers, to obtain more information about the
activities of these institutions. They are in the news almost every day.
The teacher can also make use of relevant resource persons in teaching
the topic. Particularly, excursions to these offices will help the pupils to
grasp the important issues concerning the institutions.

23
Theme 5
Civil society and popular participation

The state and civil society

Lead the pupils to explain the concept of civil society groups. Civil
society groups are groups of people who have come together for a com-
mon cause and to provide an alternative to pressure groups in social,
economic and political matters.
Guide the pupils in the classification of civil society groups, having
listened to their discussion on the classification. Civil society groups can
be classified as follows:
1. Interest groups such as trade unions, as well as professional and
business groups.
2. Organisations based on kinship, ethnicity, culture and religion.
3. Service provision groups. These are people who provide one kind
of service or the other to the public, e.g. Road Transport Employers
Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
4. Deviant civil associations, e.g. secret societies.
Examples of civil society groups in Nigeria include the CLO (Civil
Liberties Organisation), Human Rights Watch, CD (Campaign for Democ-
racy) and NADECO (National Association for Democratic Coalition).
The teacher should use posters, newspaper cuttings and video clips to
teach this topic.

Functions of civil society groups in Nigeria

Ask the pupils to mention and explain the functions of civil society
groups in Nigeria, and guide them where necessary. Lists their main
points on the chalkboard as discussion progresses on the topic. Then,
explain the functions clearly and thoroughly to the pupils using posters,
newspaper cuttings and video clips so as to gain the pupils’ attention
and enhance their understanding of the topic.
The functions of civil society groups include the following:
1. Promotion of consumer rights. Some groups want to ensure that
manufacturers produce high standard products for consumers to
buy.
2. Promotion of a healthy lifestyle among members.
3. Representing alternative views. If, for instance, a particular way of

24
 doing things seems to be more acceptable to people, a group may
come up with a different idea which they believe is better.
4. Checking of government excesses. If the government is doing things
that are against the public interest, a civil society organisation may
organise a protest on behalf of the people.
5. Facilitating the democratic process when the military was in power
in Nigeria. Many civil organsations kicked against military rule,
which was against democracy, in spite of the highhandedness of
the military that time.
6. Protection of human rights. They help to protect human rights, and
prevent abuse of any kind.
Emphasise the need for the pupils to find out more about civil society
groups, identify the good ones, and have nothing to do with the bad ones,
especially the cults in institutions of higher learning, and in society at
large.

25